Chapter 74: I love drinking bitter tea, Ning Yu couldn't possibly not know

"Then, what position do I hold in... in our Lingerie-Sect?"

Zhong Lingqing laughed.

"Master, you changed your tune too quickly..."

Yin Ningyu was speechless at the sight, but she also felt a huge weight lifted off her heart.

"What of it? At my level, my heart is set only on the Dao. I only wish to become a Venerable as soon as possible, and perhaps one day even catch a glimpse of the Saint realm. As long as I can become a Venerable, what does it matter if I act as someone's underling?"

Zhong Lingqing laughed.

She then looked at Yin Ningyu with a suspicious expression: "Well, that's settled. No one will stop you and that brat Jiang Xun from being together anymore."

"I am not a brat anymore."

Jiang Xun retracted his Crimson Wings, landed in front of Zhong Lingqing, and smiled.

Zhong Lingqing was stunned when she saw Jiang Xun.

Because she did not know that Jiang Xun had not yet undergone the Heavenly Tribulation when she went into seclusion, she was unaware that Jiang Xun had turned into an old man.

"Jiang Xun?" Zhong Lingqing reacted after a moment, frowning as she asked.

"Yes, I am an old man now," Jiang Xun nodded and smiled.

"Ning Yu, I'm afraid he isn't a match for you looking like this," Zhong Lingqing said to Yin Ningyu while looking at Jiang Xun.

"Master..." Yin Ningyu lowered her head upon hearing this, too embarrassed to look at her.

"What do you mean not a match? I will be able to cultivate my way back before long."

Jiang Xun grabbed Yin Ningyu by the waist and said.

"You..."

Yin Ningyu trembled all over. She never expected Jiang Xun to act this way. Having not been in contact with a man for hundreds of years, she could not help but feel some resistance, but once she realized it was Jiang Xun, she became half-reluctant and half-willing.

"The Sect Master did not specify your position. Come back to the Lingerie-Sect with us, and let the Sect Master decide," Ming Ning said.

"Hm? I thought you were the current Sect Master of the Lingerie-Sect."

Zhong Lingqing could not help but be puzzled. If even Ming Ning, who was in the Void Refinement Realm, was not the Sect Master, could the current Sect Master be even stronger than her?

Since when did the Lingerie-Sect become so powerful?

"Then please take your oath."

Jiang Xun said while looking at Zhong Lingqing.

"I, Zhong Lingqing, swear to join the Lingerie-Sect and from now on obey the Lingerie-Sect Sect Master..."

"Tu Qing," Jiang Xun added.

"Tu Qing?" Zhong Lingqing was also stunned, looking disbelieving, but she continued the oath anyway: "Obey the orders of Lingerie-Sect Sect Master Tu Qing, and will never betray the Lingerie-Sect, otherwise may my soul be extinguished."

After Zhong Lingqing finished her oath, a flash of light appeared on her body, signifying that the oath was successful.

"I never expected that Ruo Lan's youngest disciple would now be the Sect Master, and that her cultivation would actually be above yours? It seems the Lingerie-Sect has truly obtained great fortune."

Zhong Lingqing then looked at Ming Ning and said.

"Aunt Zhong is joking," Ming Ning said politely, without offering much explanation: "Then, without further ado, let us return to the Lingerie-Sect."

"Mm," Zhong Lingqing nodded.

"Let's go quickly," Chen Ning hurriedly stood up and left with her two junior sisters.

They never expected Zhong Lingqing to agree so readily, nor did they expect Ruo Lan to be a Half-Step Venerable, only one step away from Tribulation Transcendence.

Now, wanting to take back the Baihua Sect from the hands of the Lingerie-Sect could simply be called a pipe dream.

As Ming Ning and Zhong Lingqing left, the disciples of the Lingerie-Sect and the Baihua Sect also left the area one after another, leaving only Jiang Xun and Yin Ningyu behind.

"Still not letting go?"

Yin Ningyu struggled slightly in Jiang Xun's arms and said.

"I know you just wanted to annoy my Master. Now that they have all left, aren't you going to let go?"

"Who said I only wanted to annoy her?"

Jiang Xun let go upon hearing this, then took Yin Ningyu's hand instead: "There are no outsiders now."

Hearing this, Yin Ningyu's hand trembled slightly, but she gripped Jiang Xun tightly in return. Lowering her head, bean-sized tears rolled down, and she then buried her head into Jiang Xun's chest and began to wail.

"You bully!"

"I'm not bullying you. What would happen if the Baihua Sect disciples gossiped about you?" Jiang Xun hugged Yin Ningyu and comforted her.

"Ming Ning hit me so hard, my injuries haven't even healed yet. I almost died at her hands! You didn't even care about me!" Yin Ningyu said, feeling wronged.

"That was only because you wanted to hit me, and Senior Sister rushed out," Jiang Xun said helplessly.

"Who wanted to hit you! How could I hit you! I only wanted to knock Senior Sister Liang away. Being heavily injured by me is better than being beaten to death by you, right?"

"You also tied me up in the Dungeon."

"That was to protect you! You were a weakling at the time. What if the Baihua Sect and the Lingerie-Sect started fighting and you got hurt? Who knew you were... you were playing the pig to eat the tiger! You were clearly only at the Nascent Soul Early Stage, yet you beat Senior Sister Liang until she had no power to fight back."

Yin Ningyu wiped her tears while sobbing, looking at Jiang Xun with teary eyes.

"Besides, you were struck by heavenly lightning, your cultivation plummeted, and your lifespan was running out. Wasn't I trying to find a way to help you survive and turn you back into your former self? My Dungeon can isolate Spirit Energy and comes with medicinal bath properties; it is possible to increase one's lifespan in there!"

"You ungrateful person! You ingrate! You even helped them bully me and go against the Baihua Sect!"

Yin Ningyu punched Jiang Xun in the chest, but fearing she might kill him with one punch, she only tapped him lightly.

"Alright, stop being angry. Isn't it enough that we achieved our goal? Ning Yu is very good at acting; I almost thought you were genuinely concerned for the Baihua Sect disciples and didn't want to start a war."

Jiang Xun helped Yin Ningyu wipe away her tears and said.

"From now on, we can always be together, and you won't have to worry about those disciples gossiping. You will be my maid from now on."

"Hmph," Yin Ningyu snorted coldly and turned her face away.

"What is going on? Huh? Are you two acting?"

Jun Tianling's head was buzzing as he listened to their conversation.

"That's right, can't you tell?"

Jiang Xun laughed.

"Huh?" Jun Tianling frowned deeply: "The first time you met in the main hall, wasn't she angry? She even shattered the teapot."

"The main hall has a Formation set by Zhong Lingqing. Although she is in seclusion, she can monitor the main hall at any time and hear the sounds within it."

"Then what about when you were at the edge of the cliff, confronting each other and even threatening each other's lives?"

"Wasn't that to establish an image of Ning Yu being impartial and selfless, yet deeply concerned for the lives of the Baihua Sect disciples? So that the Baihua Sect disciples would eventually remember Ning Yu's kindness and be willing to follow Ning Yu in joining the Lingerie-Sect."

"Then, then you and Tu Qing were discussing how to deal with the Baihua Sect in all seriousness, setting a trap for Yin Ningyu, and even using yourself and the Purgatory Fire Bead to proactively propose the plan..."

"Wasn't that to take the opportunity to set conditions to save Yin Ningyu's life, while simultaneously using the Purgatory Fire Bead to keep the Baihua Sect's attention on me, so that Tu Qing and the others wouldn't be harmed?"

"Wait a minute... were you two from the very beginning aiming to have the Baihua Sect successfully merge into the Lingerie-Sect, to achieve your goal of being together?"

Jun Tianling reacted for a moment, his head buzzing.

"That's right."

Jiang Xun nodded.

"... When did you two plan this? I was there the whole time, how come I didn't know?"

"The Memory-Preserving Grass is unique to the Baihua Sect. I love drinking bitter tea, and Ning Yu would certainly know that, while the Memory-Preserving Grass is for sweet tea. As soon as the tea entered my mouth, I knew. When the teapot shattered and the tea leaves were revealed, the fragrance of the Memory-Preserving Grass filled my nostrils, and the plan began."

"However, my decision to take Hua Bairui away was indeed something outside of the plan."